


Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolly, Lollipop...

by Rory_writes



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Candy Shop, If you find this, M/M, Multi, andrew is gay, its a miracle, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27228856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rory_writes/pseuds/Rory_writes
Summary: Andrew and the Foxes work in a homemade candy store. Matt's friend and roommate Neil comes to see what all the fuss is about.Neil doesn't like sweet things and Andrew is less than impressed.
Relationships: Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker (All For The Game), Andrew Minyard & Renee Walker, Kevin Day & Neil Josten, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 28
Kudos: 183





	Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolly, Lollipop...

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt by @a-case-for-wonder on Tumblr.  
> Only changes are- Renee doesn’t own the store, they’re still college students, and Kevin and Neil still play ‘a sport’. 
> 
> TW: self-harm scar mention, swearing, sparring

There weren’t many things in life that Andrew enjoyed, but his job was one of them. Or, at the very least, it was something that he tolerated because it was less boring than the alternative. His therapist, Betsy Dobson, had found the job for him, saying he needed to find a daily routine, and find something he was good at. Betsy knew the owners of the homemade candy store, Abby and David Wymack, and they’d been willing to give Andrew a job even with his juvenile record. The store was managed by a young woman with curly black hair named Dan, and her boyfriend Matt manned the cash register. Out the back, Andrew had gotten his twin brother Aaron and their cousin Nicky jobs boiling and making the candy. Out the front in the display window was Andrew, his best friend Renee and her girlfriend Allison. They worked in full view of the store behind a glass window so that the customers could see what they were doing. Nicky, a marketing major, said it was a strategy to get interest from people walking past and also show the customers that it was all handmade. Andrew pulled the logs of candy and rolled it out into the small little rolls for Renee to cut, and Allison sat at the table sorting them into neat little packages and making all the displays, gift boxes and wrapping look beautiful. The owners’ son, Kevin, often haunted the store after his college classes or on his days off from training for whatever sport it was that he did. Andrew didn’t really care so he’d never paid enough attention. The only thing Kevin was good for was being eye candy and sometimes interesting enough to talk to when he wasn’t talking about sports. Aaron and Nicky knew what sport it was, seeing as though they spoke to Kevin about it when they were at the college dorms, but Andrew was more interested in passing his degree, reading, and sleeping. All the kids that worked at the candy shop were students at the state college not far away, but Andrew only associated with Renee outside of the store if he could help it, no matter that he shared a dorm with his family and Kevin.

“Did you try this one yet?” Renee asked from beside Andrew as he worked on a log of candy longer and thicker than his arms, needing to make it as thin as his fingers.

“No, not yet, but it looks like it’s watermelon,” Andrew answered. Renee was cutting up the thin rolls he’d already made that day and she held one of the wonky pieces out to him to try. He put it in his mouth, smiling a little bit at the sweet explosion in his mouth, and went back to working. Andrew loved sugar, more than he loved anything else. He would live off it if Kevin didn’t police their kitchen like it was his only goal in life. Kevin also had a habit of ransacking Andrew’s hidden stashes of candy every now and again and throwing them away. Fucking athletes.

“Yeah, watermelon,” Andrew said, rolling the candy across his tongue and into his cheek. Renee fed one to Allison and popped one into her own mouth, nodding appreciatively as she did so.

“Arms hurting yet, himbo?” Allison called from the other side of Renee and Andrew flicked her the bird without looking over. Allison had called him ‘himbo’ so many times since he’d started working at the store that he’d had to Google what it meant. He’d been surprised that it meant attractive, but unintelligent man. He’d been torn between being flattered and offended, because Andrew was a lot smarter than he led people to believe. Still, it was better than being called ‘monster’, so he’d decided to let it go.  
The truth was Andrew’s arms weren’t hurting yet. He was good at this job because he was strong. When you’re five foot nothing at nineteen years old, you kind of need something to make you feel better about yourself which was why Andrew could nearly match Matt in the weights room. Nearly. Matt was over six foot and had been raised by a champion boxer, so he’d had a head start. While Andrew had been shuttled through the foster care system and wallowed away in juvie, Matt had been learning to box.  
The bell above the door jangled and Andrew looked up to see who’d come in and was unsurprised to see Kevin walking past Allison’s newly done display shelf. He barely glanced at Matt as he walked behind the register, but he did say hello to Andrew and smiled politely to Renee, turning it into a grimace when he looked at Allison, and disappeared into the back room.

“He’s such a douche canoe,” Allison muttered. Andrew didn’t point out that the two of them used to make out at parties when they were drunk before Allison and Renee started dating.

“He looked happy today,” Renee said instead. Allison wrinkled her nose and Andrew turned back to his work.

“Kevin never looks happy. None of the monsters do,” Allison replied. Andrew resisted rolling his eyes.

“Nicky does!” Renee said, as calm and placating as always.

“Nicky doesn’t count, he’s only a monster by proxy,” Allison replied, sliding from her stool. Andrew saw her let herself out of their side door and start decorating one of the shelves with the new candy boxes she’d created. Conversation over, Allison exit stage left. Andrew didn’t miss the fond smile on Renee’s face as she watched her girlfriend. He opened his mouth to tell her to snap out of it, but the bell jangled and Andrew went back to aggressively pulling the log of candy.

“Hey, hey!” Matt said, sounding happy to see whoever had walked in. “I didn’t actually expect you to stop by!”

“I was curious about what you meant by ‘homemade candy’,” the newcomer said. His voice was deep, nice even, and Andrew found himself drawn in by it. He looked up and had to work really hard to not let a reaction show on his face. The newcomer was short, although taller than Andrew of course, and he had auburn hair just long enough to start curling around his ears. His eyes were so blue Andrew could have gotten lost in them if he wanted to. He had four thin, white scars running down one cheek clearly done with a small, sharp blade. On the other cheek, under his eye, was a round patch of healed, burned skin. Andrew hated that he was the perfect mix of handsome, and interesting. Nice features, nice voice, muscled legs, and scars that beg the question of ‘what happened to you?’ If someone that attractive could get themselves into that much trouble, he deserved the label ‘himbo’ not Andrew. Andrew’s scars were all self-inflicted, which he could argue was less stupid than having someone or something burn your face.  
The door between Andrew and the back room shut with a snap and Andrew jerked his head around to see who’d come out. If Nicky or Aaron were bringing out another log of candy already, he was going to have words with them, but it was just Kevin.

“Oh Neil!” Kevin said, actually smiling at the newcomer. “What are you doing here?”

“Matt told me he worked here so I thought I’d check it out,” Neil said, tilting his chin in Matt’s direction.

“I didn’t know you two were friends,” Kevin mused, situating himself at the counter beside Andrew. Andrew bit hard on the inside of his cheek and worked harder on the roll in front of him, looking at Neil out of the corner of his eye.

“We are,” Matt said, looking strangely proud. Neil smiled and Andrew looked away for a second.

“We are also roommates,” he said.

“How do you two know each other?” Matt asked from his stool behind the register.

“Neil is our freshman recruit, obviously,” Kevin answered.

“Oh right, of course,” Matt said, clearly as interested in the sport as Andrew was.

“He’s more of a soccer fan,” Neil said as if apologising for his roommate’s ignorance. Kevin grimaced as if that news personally offended him, swiping up a handful of the wonky, rejected pieces of candy, and pocketing them. Andrew knew that the small handful would be the only candy Kevin would eat that week, and the knowledge pained him. Andrew ate double that daily.

“See you at practice,” Kevin said to Neil. “And I’ll see you later,” Kevin added, looking at Andrew.

“Bye,” Andrew replied, waving him away impatiently, grateful to have room again. Not elbowing Kevin when he’s standing that close to Andrew working was a chore he couldn’t really be bothered with. Kevin left the store without a backward glance or saying goodbye to anyone else, and Andrew didn’t hold that against him.

“Good to know he’s an asshole all the time and not just on the court,” Neil said to Matt who laughed.

“You have no idea. He’s nice to Andrew, and that’s about it,” Matt responded. Andrew looked up at his name and met Neil’s eyes. Neil smiled at him and did the stupid male nod thing and Andrew looked away.

“Did you want to try some free samples?” Renee asked Neil, sliding some more of the multicoloured rejects into one of Allison’s boxes that hadn’t worked. She passed them to Andrew who held them in Matt’s direction because there was a glass wall in the way of him and Neil.

“Um, okay,” Neil said, sounding dubious. He took the box and popped one into his mouth. Andrew didn’t miss the immediate, full body wince as he crunched the rock hard candy between his teeth straight away, making Andrew cringe. He swallowed the shards quickly and put the box down in front of the register, looking severely unimpressed and a little bit embarrassed. “That's too sweet,” he explained. Matt laughed, but Andrew stopped working to openly stare incredulously at him. It’s a fucking candy store, what did he expect? Matt used his finger to rifle through the pieces and pulled out a blueberry one

“The watermelon is a bit obnoxious, but try this one. It’s a little less sweet and more… sour? Kind of,” he explained. Neil looked traumatised, but he took the piece between his finger and thumb and put it in his mouth. The reaction was less intense, and he managed to suck it for more than five seconds before wincing and crushing it between his teeth again to get it out of his mouth.

“Too sweet still,” Neil said, pushing the box further away. Matt went looking for a third piece of candy, but Andrew was getting annoyed now. He went over to the register, snatched the box from Matt and ignored his undignified ‘hey!’

“It’s a candy store, dipshit,” Andrew said to Neil. “Everything is sweet, that’s the point. Just don’t eat any of it,” he snapped. Neil raised his eyebrows, but it was the smile tugging at his lips that threw Andrew for a loop. Usually, when Andrew got mad at someone, that someone cowered or apologised or reacted, rightfully so, with fear. The only person who didn’t react with fear was Aaron, and that was because his twin reacted with anger in return. Nobody smiled at him.

“That is the plan, thanks,” Neil replied easily. Andrew stalked back to his spot and gave Renee back the box.

“The monster strikes again,” Allison said cheerily from her place at the shelves.

“Monster?” Neil asked, surveying Andrew with his chilling blue eyes. Andrew schooled his features to impassivity and went back to work. “I don’t think he’s a monster,” was all Neil said before turning back to Matt. Andrew deposited the sentence into the back of his mind to think about later. How would Neil know if he was a monster?

“You going to be out late tonight?” Matt asked.

“Nah, I’ll be home straight after training,” Neil said. “Just because I don’t like the candy, doesn’t mean this isn’t a pretty cool job,” he added. Andrew felt his eyes on him, but he didn’t look up.

“Thanks, I like it,” Matt agreed. Neil laughed and Andrew decided he liked the noise, which meant he also hated it.

“See you tonight,” Neil said.

“Yeah, thanks for stopping by,” Matt said, genuinely meaning it judging by the happiness in his voice. Andrew glanced up and caught Neil’s eyes again.

“I will do just that,” Neil said, giving Andrew a smile that made Andrew want to punch him. Or kiss him. Or maybe punch him and then kiss him.

“Bye!” Matt said as Neil backed towards the door.

“See you, and Andrew?” Neil said, making eye contact again, “It was nice meeting you.” Andrew didn’t warrant that with a reply, even though something in his stomach stirred. Attraction, butterflies, whatever you wanted to call it. It made Andrew want to peel his skin off. Kevin was hot. Roland, the bartender Andrew fucked around with some weekends, was easy and obedient (mostly). Andrew hadn’t felt actual, genuine attraction stirring in his stomach for a very long time, at least not unless it was chased by hot lashes of desire and lust. This was just simple, innocent, followed merely by curiosity. Andrew was not impressed.

*

That afternoon, after Aaron and Nicky had turned off and cleaned all the equipment out the back, Matt had counted all the money, Allison had swept and tidied the front of the store, and Renee had helped Andrew clean the display workspace, Dan shut off the lights and locked the store behind them.  
“You coming back to the dorm? I’m starving!” Nicky asked Andrew. Andrew had been simmering on his encounter with Neil all afternoon and hand pulling candy ropes hadn’t been enough of a distraction. He turned to Renee who was watching him calmly.

“Do you want to…?” she asked, leaving the question open ended. Andrew knew what she was asking, and he really, really did.

“Yes,” he said. She smiled and nodded.

“I’ll meet you in the dorm parking lot in half an hour?” She asked. Andrew nodded and got in his car with Aaron and Nicky. Renee and Allison climbed into Allison’s car, and Dan and Matt went to a restaurant further down the street for dinner.

“I’ll leave dinner in the fridge for you,” Nicky said quietly from the passenger seat. Andrew didn’t answer, but he knew Nicky would do it anyway.

*

Half an hour later, he met Renee in the parking lot and they went around the back of the building and down a rarely used path to their frequented sparring place. Renee and Andrew made quick, careful work of wrapping their hands after removing their shoes and circled each other familiarly. Renee made the first move and Andrew parried it easily, going for a hit in her stomach that she dodged on nimble feet.  
After an hour, they were both sore and adequately beaten up and they sank to the floor beside each other to gingerly unwrap their hands. Andrew knew Renee wouldn’t ask why Andrew needed the fight, but part of him wanted to tell her anyway. He didn’t, but he knew she would work it out with his question.

“Do you think you could talk to Abby and Wymack about maybe introducing a new flavour?”

“I can certainly try, what flavour do you have in mind?” She asked, wincing a little as she moved. Andrew had hit her really quite hard in the side of her ribs that was going to be a proper bruise before she went to bed that night. To be fair, Andrew’s lip was split and his shoulder was still numb from her last punch.

“Lemon or liquorice,” Andrew said, packing his sparring equipment into a bag. He didn’t miss Renee’s smile as she spoke.

“They’re not very sweet flavours,” she mused.

“No, they’re not,” he agreed.

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it,” she teased. If they weren’t sat on the floor already unequipped, he would have swung at her for that. As it was he just glared at her and her smile grew. “I’ll talk to Abby and Wymack tomorrow,” she promised.

“Don’t tell anyone it was my idea,” he warned.

“It’s nobody else’s business,” Renee agreed.


End file.
